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Smoking in America: Fast facts

Take a look at these facts about cigarette smoking in the U.S., based on 2013 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The percentage of adults who were smokers in 2013:

20.5 percent men

15.3 percent women

The race/ethnic group in America that smoked the most in 2013 was American Indian/Alaska Native, with 26.1 percent, although the rate among those people who identified as "multiple races (non-Hispanic)" was a little higher at 26.8 percent. Those people of an Asian background were the least likely to smoke, with only 9.6 percent.

The majority of adults who smoked in 2013 were between the ages of 25 and 44.

Only 5.6 percent of smokers are adults with postgraduate college degrees, the least likely educational level to be smokers, followed by those with an undergraduate degree at 9.1 percent. The educational level most likely to smoke as of 2013 was those with a GED, at 41.4 percent.

A total of 29.2 percent of smokers in 2013 were adults who live below the poverty level.

The state with the most smokers is Kentucky, with 30.2 percent of the adult population smoking as of 2013.

The state with the lowest rate of smokers, according to 2013 data, is Utah, with 12.2 percent of adults reporting they are smokers.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for more than 480,000 deaths, or nearly one of every five deaths, in the United States each year.

In addition, smoking-related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion a year, including nearly $170 billion in direct medical care for adults and $156 billion in lost productivity.